Marina hires city manager from Utah

The Marina City Council is hiring a veteran city administrator to be the new city manager.

Layne P. Long, 57, who most recently worked as city manager in Draper, Utah, for five years, will start in Marina on Monday.

Mayor Bruce Delgado said Long, who also has worked in city governments in Springville, Utah, Los Altos and Morgan Hill, "is very creative and very much a people person."

Delgado said Long was one of about nine candidates interviewed by the City Council in recent closed sessions. He was reluctant to discuss Long's background because he said he learned much about it in confidential interviews.

"He has had great success at where he has been, bringing in impressive economic ventures — the kind of things we would like to have here," Delgado said.

The mayor said the council is expected to formally ratify Long's contract at its April 2 meeting.

Delgado said Long helped develop a velodrome in Draper and bring high-tech firms to the city. "He knows how to negotiate and work with large firms," he said.

Interim City Manager Doug Yount, who took the helm of the city administration a year ago when the council fired former Marina manager Tony Altfeld, notified city staff members of the incoming manager in a memo Monday afternoon.

Yount said he withdrew his name from the selection process in January.

Delgado said the city hired a search firm that received about 75 applicants for the manager job, and it took "a lot of whittling" to arrive at Long.

The mayor said there was extensive review of Young's background that turned up "all good stuff ... no negatives."

Council members considered traveling to Utah in their review, but rejected it because of the city's "economic condition," Delgado said.

Draper city records indicate Long resigned in June 2012 as city manager, a job he had held since 2007. His resignation came weeks after the Draper City Council, amid public controversy, pulled a $26 million bond for a public recreation center off the June ballot at the eleventh hour.

During his tenure, Long dealt with a 2008 cost overrun on a new fire station and construction of a city amphitheater.

Draper is a fast-growing city of 43,500 about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City. It is home of the Utah State Prison and Utah Department of Corrections.

Other big employers in Draper include eBay, Affiliated Computer Services and 1-800-Contacts.

Long has a master's degree in public administration from Brigham Young University. He and his wife, Maggie, have five children.

Marina's Altfeld was fired on a 3-2 council vote in March 2012 after months of negotiations over his pay and compensation. He had been city manager for 10 years. The city ultimately paid about $150,000 to settle a claim Altfeld filed over severance pay.

Altfeld was making $220,000 a year, but the council wanted to drop his annual pay to $180,000.

Councilwoman Nancy Amadeo said Long's salary and other contract terms will be part of the public record for Tuesday's meeting. Until then, she said she wouldn't go into details about his compensation.

"It's a fair and equitable salary compared to salaries in the region," she said.

The city is holding a public reception for Long and his family at 5 p.m. Friday in the council chambers, 211 Hillcrest Ave.